Pre-hung door assembly

ABSTRACT

A PREASSEMBLED DOOR HAVING AN OUTER FRAME WHICH CONSISTS OS A TOP Z-BAR OR HEADER AND SIDE Z-BARS AND HAVING A DOOR HINGED TO ONE OF THE SIDE Z-BARS. THE OTHER SIDE Z-BAR IS CONNECTED TO THE DOOR BY SEVERABLE FASTENING MEMBERS AND IS SPACED FROM THE DOOR BY REMOVABLE SPACER MEMBERS. THE SIDE Z-BARS ARE FIXED AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO THE HEADER BY TABS WHICH PROJECT DOWNWARDLY FROM THE HEADER AND BY STRIPS OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE TAPE WHICH EXTEND AROUND THE INTERSECTION OF THE OUTSIDE SURFACES OF THE PORTIONS OF THE TOP Z-BAR AND THE SIDE Z-BARS WHICH FORM LINTEL AND JAMB SURFACES FOR THE DOOR.

NCQ. 9, 1971 Rf... TORBETT 3,618,261

PRE-HUNG DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed May 27, 1970 l 2- sheets-sheet 1 ll d I J?? u IlI lll In 1l (Ib 1,1

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F/// H "v2 1 y /3 n wmv? /v` 1. v C) I fd X "i w26 5 /3 26 U W l 1 i 1 N *1l INVENTOR. Pfc/44H0 70103577 Nov. 9, 1971 R. ToRBE'rT 3,618,261

PRE-HUNG DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed May 27, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f4 TTOPA/EYS United States Patent @mee 3,618,261 i PRE-HUNG DOOR ASSEMBLY Richard L. Torhett, Gnadenhutten, Ohio, assignor to Harvard Industries, Inc. Filed May 27, 1970, Ser. No. 41,037 Int. Cl. E061) 3/32 U.S. Cl. 49-380 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A preassembled door having an outer frame ,which consists of a top Z-bar or header and side Z-bars and having a door hinged to one of the side Z-bars. The other side Z-bar is connected to the door by severable fastening members and is spaced from the door by removable spacer members. The side Z-bars are xed at their upper ends to the header by tabs which project downwardly from the header and by strips of pressure-sensitive tape which extend around the intersection of the outside surfaces of the portions of the top Z-'bar and the side Z-bars which form lintel and jamb surfaces for the door.

BACKGROUND OF 'THE INVENTION tween the top Z-bar or header `and the side Z-bars.

According to conventional manufacturing and installation techniques, aluminum storm doors are assembled within a frame which comprises vertically extending side Z-bars and a top Z-bar or header so that the entire unit may be easily installed on the door jambs and lintel of a building structure. The door frame is fastened to one side Z-bar by hinges and is fastened to the other Z-bars by screws or rivets, and suitable spacers or shims are inserted between the Z-bars and the door frame to ensure the proper clearance between these members when they are installed. According to many prior art practices, the top Z-bar or header is xed to the door by at least two severable fastening members, and is spaced from the door Iby removable spacer members. According to these prior art practices, there is no positive connection between the header and the side Z-bars.

Although it is necessary to provide some connection in .addition to the hinge connection between the door and the frame members, connections between the unhinged side Z-bar and the door will provide this function. The 'connections between the header and the door primarily serve as fastening means for the header and, in order to perform this fastening function, at least two connections are necessary. These connections are difficult to accomplish in production, since they are performed while the door is moving along a conveyor belt with the door oriented with its long axis in the direction of belt movement. Thus, the assembler must either lean over the conveyor belt and perform the necessary riveting operations, while attempting to maintain alignment of the header with respect to the side Zabars, or perform these operations after turning the door toward his position.

One attempt to overcome this assembly problem is set Patented Nov. 9, 1971 costs. Furthermore, the arrangement according to the aforementioned patent results in projections on the outer surface of the door jamb members, which may interfere with the door jambs on the building structure as the door and its frame 4are being installed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes many of the prior art problems involved in the assembly of pre-hung doors. Specifcally, this invention provides a technique for positively fastening the top Z-bar to the side Z-bars of a door frame so that there are no projections which might interfere with the building opening during the mounting of the preassembled door. The Z-bars according to this invention include a first leg which serves as a door stop, ya web portion which extends substantially perpendicular to the door stop and which serves as a door jamb, and a third leg which extends substantially perpendicular to the web which serves as a facing trim member for the assembled frame. The intersection between the trim member and the web is dened by a looped portion which adds structural rigidity to the Z-'bar and which serves as a decorative trim for the frame.

A connection between the top Z-bar and the side Z-bars is accomplished by cutting away the portion of the web on the top Z-bar which would normally extend over the side Z-bar and by cutting `a pair of notches in the looped portion of the top Z-bar which extends over the looped portion of the side Z-bar. The looped portion between the notches on the top Z-bar is then bent downwardly to fit within the looped portion of the side Z-bar to prevent axial movement of the top Z-bar relative to the side Z-bar. A strip of pressure-sensitive tape is then adhered to the outer surface of the web portions of the top Z-bar and the side Z-bar to prevent any lateral movement of the top Z-bar relative to the side Z-bars.

This arrangement securely fastens the top Z-bar to the side Z-bars and permits the use of a spacer element Ibetween the door and the top Z-bar but does not require any mechanical connection between the top Z-bar and the door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a pre-hung door mounted within its frame.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, rear perspective view of one corner of the door, the top Z-bar, and a side Z-bar, showing these elements about to be assembled to form a corner construction according to this invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view showing the top Z-bar, the side Z-bar, and the door in an assembled relationship. n

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, cross sectional View, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings, a pre-hung door assembly 10 is illustrated. The assembly 10 includes a pre-hung door 11 which includes side frame members 12 and 13 and top and bottom frame members 14 and 15, respectively. The members 12-.15 may be aluminum extruslons, and may have identical cross sections.

A Z-bar unit comprising side Z-bars 16 and 17 and a header or top Z-bar 18 is associated with the members 12-15. The member 12 is hinged to the side Z-bar 16. The member 13 is fixed to and spaced `from the side Z-bar 17 by spacer assemblies 19, which are preferably spacer assemblies according to copending application Ser. No. 9,544, tiled Feb. 9, 1970. The spacer assemblies according to that application include a spacer member having a rectangular base portion and parallel extending portions which serve as spacer elements and define a guide track for a severing tool which is employed to cut a rivet passing through the member 13, the Z-bar 17, and the spacer member. Of course, other spacer assemblies may be utilized, such as the spacer assembly set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,510.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the Z-bars 16, 17 and 18 have identical extruded cross sections. The Z- bars 17 and 18 have first leg portions 20 and 21, respectively, which serve as door stops for the door 11, and the Z-bar 16 has a similar door stop (not shown). The door stops 20 and 21 and the door stop provided on the Z- bar 16 are provided with weather-seal strips 22 (FIG. 2). The Z-bars 17 and 18 have web portions 23 and 24, respectively, and the Z-bar 16 is provided vwith a similar web portion (not shown). The web portions 23 and 24 are disposed at right angles ot the first leg portions 20 and 21 and serve as door jambs for the door 11. The Z-bars 16, 17, and 18 are respectively provided with second leg portions 25, 26, and 27, which extend at right angles with respect to their web portions and which serve as facing trim for the Z-bars when the assembly is mounted in a permanent door frame.

The intersection between each web portion and each second leg portion comprises a loop portion 29, which adds structural rigidity to the Z-bar and which serves as a decorative trim for the frame. The cross sectional extent of each looped portion 29 is defined by longitudinally ertending beads 30 and 31.

The Z-bar 16 is connected to the member 12 of the door 11 by suitable conventional hinges 28 and the Z-bar 17 is connected to the member 13 by the aforementioned spacer assemblies 19. The header or top Z-bar 18 is spaced from the member 14 by a U-shaped clip 32, which fits snugly over the top of the member 14, as may be seen in FIG. 2. If desired, a similar spacer 32 may be provided between the Z-bar 17 and the member 13 of the door.

The top Z-bar 18 is not connected to the member `14, but is fixed to the Z-bars 16 and 17 in the following manner. The top Z-bar 18 is initially cut so that its longitudinal extent covers the side Z-bars 16 and 17. The web portion 24, however, is partially removed so that an end 33 of the 4web portion 24 does not extend beyond the plane of the web portion 23 of the Z-bar 17. Furthermore, the first leg 21 of the Z-bar 18 is partially cut away so that the leg portion 21 and the leg portion 20 are substantially coplanar.

The portions of the looped portions 29 of the top Z-bar 18 which overlie the looped portions 29 of the Z-bars 16 and 17 are isolated by cutting notches 35 into those portions. The notches 35 `define a tongue 36, which is bent downwardly (see FIG. 4) so that it is received in the looped portion 29. The beads 30 and 31 tend to retain the tongue 36 within the looped portion 29 so that the looped portion 29 prevents any substantial lateral or axial movement of the top Z-bar 18. The upper corner intersection of the web 23 and the web 24 and the corresponding corner `intersection defined by the web 24 and the web (not shown) provided in the side Z-bar 16 are covered by strips of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 40. The tape 40 is preferably fiberreinforced plastic tape and firmly joins the top Z-bar 18 to the side Z-bars 16 and 17. Of course, further rigidity is provided when the legs 2S, 26, and 27 are screwed to the outside of the building structure when the preassembled door is mounted.

The invention is not restricted to the slavish imitation of each and every detail set forth above. Obviously, devices may be provided which change, eliminate, or add certain specific details without departing from thef'scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A door frame assembly comprising a top Z-bar and side Z-bars having identical cross sections, each of said cross sections including a web portion, a first leg portion extending substantially perpendicular and in a first direction from one end of said web portion, and a second leg portion extending substantially perpendicular and in a second direction from the other end of said web portion, the intersection between said second leg portion and said web portion being defined by a looped portion, means joining the ends of said top Z-bar to each of said size Z-bars to form corner intersections for said frame assembly so that said side Z-bars extend substantially perpendicular from said top Z-bar, said joining means including tongue means extending from one of said Z-bars and into the looped portion on the intersecting Z-bar, said tongue means comprising a portion of the looped portion of said one of said Z-bars.

2. A door frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tongue means extends into the end of said looped portion.

3. A door frame assembly according to claim 2, wherein said looped portion is bounded by longitudinally extending bead portions which serve to retain the tongue portion within the looped portion.

4. A door frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tongue means extends from the top Z-bar and into the looped portion on a side Z-bar.

5. A door frame assembly according to claim 1, including pressure-sensitive adhesive tape secured to and extending between the web portion of the top Z-bar and the web portion of the side Z-bar forming said corner intersection.

6. A pre-hung door and frame assembly comprising a top Z-bar and side Z-bars having identical cross sections, each of said cross sections including a web portion, a first leg portion extending substantially perpendicular and in a first direction from one end of said web portion, and a second leg portion extending substantially perpendicular and in a second direction from the other end of said web portion, the intersection between said second leg portion and said web portion being defined by a looped portion, means joining the ends of said top Z-bar to each of said size Z-bars to form corner intersections for said Z- bars so that said side Z-bars extend substantially perpendicular from said top Z-bar, a door mounted within the top and side Z-bars, hinge means connecting one of said side Z-bars to one side of said floor, the other side Z-bar being connected to the other side of said door by severable fastening means, said joining means including tongues extending from said top Z-bar and into the looped portions of the intersecting Z-bars, said tongues cornprising portions of the looped portions of said top Z-bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,576,840 ll/ll Kessler 287-189.36 H 3,081,852 3/1963 Mendlesohn 49-504 X 3,430,385 3/1969 Biro 49-380 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 287-18936 

